>R-30:
- The Omnica Corporation begins to create omnics - robots designed to help humanity reach economic equality. Dr. Mina Liao is one of their leading designers. Omnica fails to meet promised quotas, and is investigated for fraud. The company is forced to dissolve and the omniums are shut down.
~R-30-25:
- The Omnic Crisis: for reasons unknown, the omniums reactivate and start mass-production of war machines, declaring war on humanity.
- Gabriel Reyes (Reaper), Jack Morrison (Soldier: 76), Ana Amari, Torbjorn Lindholm, Reinhardt Wilhelm and Dr. Mina Liao form the Overwatch strike team and take out key targets to end the war.
R-23:
- Operation: White Dome. Torbjorn is badly injured on a mission, losing his right arm. Reinhardt saves his life, and Torbjorn gives him the honour of naming his youngest child. Brigitte Lindholm is born shortly after.
~R-20:
- South Korea is attacked by a massive omnic that would become known as the Gwishin. Every few years, the omnic would return, having adapted and learned from previous attacks.
- The Deadlock Gang is busted in an Overwatch sting operation. Deadlock Co-founder Jesse McCree is given the choice between joining Blackwatch or rotting in jail. McCree chooses Blackwatch.
- The Australian Liberation Front, angry that their land had been given to the omnics as part of a settlement after the omnic crisis, sabotaged the omnium causing it to explode, irradiating the Australian outback.
~R-15:
- A damaged Bastion unit wakes up in the Black Forest. Instead of following its programming and waging a one-bot war against Stuttgart, it returns to the forest and avoids contact with humans.
- Mercy joins Overwatch.
~R-10:
- Winston arrives on Earth and joins Overwatch. Hammond crash-lands in Australia and becomes a Scrapyard fighter (and eventually champion) in Junkertown.
- Genji Shimada is almost murdered by his brother and is saved by Overwatch. He is offered a cyborg body in return for his help taking down the Shimada clan.
R-9:
- Ecopoint Antarctica is hit by a polar storm; the scientists run low on rations and decide to wait out the storm in cryosleep.
- Moira O’Deorain is recruited into Blackwatch by Commander Reyes after having been shut down by Overwatch previously.
R-8:
- The Venice Incident - Several attacks on Overwatch facilities (including several attempts on Gerard Lacroix’s life) prompt Blackwatch to strike back against Talon; the plan goes awry and the public learns about Blackwatch. All Blackwatch agents are suspended; Genji later works with the main Overwatch strike team.
- Akande Ogundimu kills his mentor to become the new Doomfist.
- Public opinion of Overwatch turns sour, and a formal investigation into Overwatch’s activities is launched.
- Slipstream pilot Lena “Tracer” Oxton is lost in time and subsequently rescued by Overwatch scientist Winston.
- Overwatch shuts down the Anubis Project in Cairo, leading to the destabilization of the region.
R-7:
- Talon finally succeeds in killing Gerard Lacroix by using his wife Amélie as a sleeper agent.
- Null Sector uprising in King’s Row; Morrison disobeys orders from the British PM and Director Petras, sending in a strike team. The strike team succeeds in rescuing the hostages and stopping the uprising.
R-6:
- While on an Overwatch mission in Poland to rescue captured scientists, Ana Amari is engaged by a new Talon sniper and assumed to be KIA.
- A strike team consisting of Tracer, Mercy, Winston and Genji goes on a mission to assault a distillery in Havana owned by Talon financier Maximilien. Their goal is to capture Maximilien and discover Doomfist’s whereabouts.
- Doomfist establishes a plan with Null Sector to cause a global war.
- Winston, Tracer and Genji fight Doomfist in Singapore and capture him.
- McCree leaves Overwatch due to rising tensions and him not wanting to take a side.
- Morrison and Reyes come to blows (cause unknown; the public believes that it was jealousy), but their fight is interrupted by the bombing of the Swiss headquarters. Both men are thought dead but no bodies are recovered.
R-5:
- Genji leaves Overwatch and wanders the world, seeking inner peace.
- The UN inquiry into Overwatch’s activities concludes and the Petras Act is passed, outlawing Overwatch activities.
- Overwatch is officially disbanded.
R-4:
- When a mission in Monte Cristi goes too far, Talon Medic Jean-Baptiste Augustine leaves Talon.
R-1:
- August 24: Baptiste’s former squadmates corner him in Haiti and are systematically taken out.
Date Unknown
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Dr. Liao creates Echo, an adaptive multirole robot. She is later killed in an attack on her lab.
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The Calado Group’s building was sabotaged, causing a fire in the favelas of Rio de Janairo. Vishkar secures the contract to renovate the favelas, only to face some resistance from local freedom fighter Lúcio Correia dos Santos.
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Dutch scientist Dr. Seibren de Kuiper conducts an experiment to contain a black hole on Lucheng’s space station; the experiment fails and Dr. de Kuiper suffers a traumatic injury. He is quarantined on Earth for public safety, until Talon “rescues” him.
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In an attempt to get revenge on the Queen of Junkertown, Junkrat and Roadhog go on a worldwide heist spree and become internationally wanted criminals.
R:
- A Helix Security International team is sent in to subdue the god program Anubis after it breaches quarantine.
- Widowmaker assassinates Tekhartha Mondatta. Tracer attempts to thwart her but fails. This results in a minor uprising among the omnics of King’s Row that is averted by Tracer and her friends.
- Winston initiates the Overwatch Recall. Mei is woken from cryostasis by his message and escapes from Antarctica to join him.
- Talon defector Jean-Baptiste Augustin is located by his former comrades and pressured into performing one last mission; Baptiste sabotages the mission and decides to seek out Mercy.
- October 24 - November 2: Mei travels from the Yukon to Los Angeles, spends the weekend in LA, then travels to Nepal to investigate abandoned research stations.
- November 2: Talon infiltrates Volskaya Industries with the intent of assassinating Chairwoman Katya Volskaya; Sombra sabotages the mission so she can blackmail Kayta for her own purposes.
- Soldier: 76 and Ana Amari reunite in Cairo. They work together to take out local crime lord Abdul Hakim, before meeting with Mercy to resupply and continue pursuing Reaper towards Europe.
- Katya Volskaya sends Zarya to find Sombra, but Zarya ends up learning the truth about Katya.
- After Vishkar damages a statue in a local temple in India, Symmetra spends a week with Tekhartha Zenyatta to help understand the temple’s needs and repair the statue.
R+1:
- Doomfist escapes from prison and returns to Talon, killing Vialli and setting Talon on a new course. Efi Oladele, a robotics prodigy in Numbani, witnesses Doomfist’s attack on the Numbani airport when he retakes the Doomfist gauntlet, and is inspired to create a new protector for Numbani.
- Torbjorn finds Bastion wandering around in Northern Sweden. Noticing that it isn’t following its programming, Torbjorn takes it under his wing.
- March 23: The Deadlock Gang derails a US military train and McCree steps in to collect the cargo: former Overwatch asset Echo.
- Winston, Tracer and Mei go to Paris to defend the city from a Null Sector invasion; they are joined by Genji, Reinhardt, Brigitte, Echo and Mercy. Overwatch is officially reunited.
- Overwatch goes to Rio de Janairo to help against the Null Sector invasion. They meet Lucio, and help him in defending the city.
- Lucio goes to Numbani for a concert, which is interrupted by a Talon attack. Efi, Orisa and Lucio defend the city but Doomfist escapes.